Stick To COVID Protocols To Avoid Third Wave Of Virus – Dr. Tufton

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says that while the coronavirus (COVID-19) numbers and positivity rate are trending downwards, Jamaicans should continue adhering to the infection prevention and control measures in order to avoid a third wave of the virus.

He said Jamaica has, so far, experienced two surges of COVID-19, noting that “the consequences of the surge we are currently going through have been far more severe than the first one we went through last year”.

“What we saw as a consequence were higher numbers of hospitalisations, higher numbers of deaths unfortunately,” Dr. Tufton said,

He was addressing the Ministry’s COVID Conversations virtual press conference on April 29.

Providing statistics, Dr. Tufton said that in the peak week of the first surge, the country saw 1,154 cases compared to 4,082 in the peak week of the second surge.

“This translated to the death of some 31 persons in the peak week of the first surge and we had 59 in the peak week of the second surge. In the peak week of the first surge bed occupancy for confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19 went up to 309 and in the peak week of the second surge, we saw 716,” he noted further.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, said that as many as 10,700 cases could be recorded in the peak week of a possible third wave.

“Our starting point is not going to be as low as it was in August last year or even in December of last year. We are going to have higher starting points that are going to result in possibly very, very high rates,” she warned.

She noted that as COVID-19 cases rise, the number of deaths could increase to as many as 180 in a peak week.

“It means also that there is going to be a severe stress on our [hospital] beds and …we could be needing as many as 1,900 beds. Do we have 1,900 beds? We do not. We see what is happening in other countries. Hospitals are closing their gates because they do not have oxygen, they do not have beds.  It can happen to us,” she pointed out.

Dr. Bisasor-McKenzie is imploring Jamaicans not to become complacent.

She said that several countries, such as Germany, Italy, Hungary, France, Poland, Spain, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Peru and Iran, have gone into third phases “because as soon as there was a decrease in the number of cases, persons started to become complacent”.

“Now is the time that we have to ensure that we take the precautions, that we continue to maintain our restrictions. We have to decrease exposure, wear our masks, keep physical distancing, stay at home, avoid gatherings – social and business – so that we can keep our reproductive rates down, keep our positivity rate down, keep our hospitalisations down,” she noted.